Men's Basketball Welcomes Tampa Saturday

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – Barry University men’s basketball team opens Sunshine State Conference play Saturday at 4 p.m. against Tampa.

“It’s a great opportunity for us,” freshman forward Adrian Gonzalez said. “We’re prepared, and we’re practicing really hard. From what I’ve heard, you can’t take a night off in this conference as teams can come out here on any given day and just beat you. So we’re mentally ready and physically prepared to take them on and hopefully get that W.”

Last year’s conference opener required overtime in the Buccaneers’ win. But this year is a new season. The Bucs (4-0) have already experienced a close call – a 95-93 win over Belmont Abbey in the Barry Thanksgiving Classic.

“We learned a lot,” said Gonzalez, who is averaging 12.3 points per game and shooting 58.8 percent from the field. “We had a lot of mistakes, but we’ve watched film, and we’ve learned from our mistakes.”

Tampa (5-1) gave the Bucs fits the last time the Spartans visited Health & Sports Center when Da’Markco Foster put together a furious rally in the closing minutes before the Buccaneers prevailed. Foster leads the Spartans in scoring (18.8). Vincent Cornu is averaging 10 points and 7.8 rebounds, and Jordan Davis 12 points and 6.7 assists.

Barry has five players scoring in double figures, and point guard Deric Hill is averaging 7.8 assists while scoring eight points per game. The Bucs rank No. 22 in the country in scoring at 92.8 points per game. They are seventh in the nation in rebounding margin. Barry is outrebounding its opponents by 14.8 per game.

“This is probably the most unselfish team I’ve ever played for,” Gonzalez said. “We’re not worried about individual stats. We’re just worried about our team thing.”

The Buccaneers will have two more home games before playing in the Lynn Courtyard by Marriott Holiday Classic in Boca Raton. Barry hosts Ave Maria Dec. 13 and Claflin Dec. 17, both at 7:30 p.m.

FERRALES ON FIRE: Barry Jr. G Juan Ferrales’ 34 points in Saturday’s win is the most by a Buccaneer since Melvin Triche had 34 against Newberry on Dec. 2, 2005 ... Ferrales leads the SSC in scoring (23.8).

PLAYER OF WEEK: Ferrales was named the Sunshine State Conference Player of the week ... He is the first to win it at Barry since Jan. 2011.